The right thing to ‘ I do’
IN reference to the marriage vote letter, there are several points that are important to understand about the marriage equality vote. The first is that our laws are not based on the bible or any religious teachings.
The bible contains many concepts, such as incest and beheadings, slavery and capital punishment, that are completely irrelevant to 2017 modern- day society, and which are completely socially unacceptable now.
Secondly, in the wake of World War II, Australia became signatory to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which was designed to provide a moral and ethical compass for how we live our lives, so that everybody has access to fair and equitable treatment. If there are any guidelines that we should be using, when making big decisions as a country, the UN Declaration of Human Rights is a good place to start.
As such, the gay marriage vote is separate from religious beliefs. If gay marriage is allowed in Australia, churches and individual religious establishments will be able to set their own guidelines as to what happens within those religions, and the gay marriage law will not affect this.
In addition, this is not a vote about whether or not you agree with gay relationships. Same- sex de facto relationships, joint child- rearing and sexual relationships are already happening in Australia, and around the world. Whether you agree with this or not is completely irrelevant.
People are gay, they love each other and raise families together already. This vote is about the human right to legally make a lifelong commitment to a person that you love, if you are in a same- sex relationship.
It is about allowing same- sex couples the legal right to make important decisions for their loved ones, in times of crisis. It is about recognising that people who are not heterosexual are human beings just like people who are heterosexual, and that a same- sex relationship is not grounds to deny somebody their human rights.
Regardless of your personal opinions about the intimate relationships of other people, this is not a vote about that. It is a vote about whether or not we are a country that values the human rights of all of our citizens – and whether we are going to step up and stop using our privileged position as heterosexual people to wrongfully impinge on the human rights and relationships of other people.
Voting no will not stop people from being gay. It will not stop gay families. It will not make your life any different. It will not magically make the world a different place. However, voting yes will undoubtedly improve the lives of children already living in families with same- sex parents, who will hopefully be able to live with less discrimination towards them.
It may improve the lives of teenagers and young people who are struggling with the overt message from society that they are not good enough to be entitled to the same rights as other people. It will definitely assist older gay couples who are coming to the end of life, and are able to fully and legally support each other in hospital, nursing homes and other government systems without further hardship for them.
This vote is a very simple way to make the lives of other people a little easier, and it won’t hurt you whatsoever. So why would you vote no? VIOLET HENDRIX,
Vincent.